I tried to do it all — the mazes and minigolf and midway and magic. I rode on a zip line, a ferris wheel, a cable car and a helicopter. I lunched at a rotating restaurant, looking down at tumbling tumultuous water, then out at the distant towers of downtown Toronto. I pet a parrot. I played “Hercules,” the world’s largest pinball machine. I stared into the waxy eyes of Hollywood heroes and my own long face in funhouse mirrors. I lost five dollars to a one-cent slot machine called “Treasure Tempest.” I even ate a beavertail. I saw illuminations and fireworks. I got soaked on the Hornblower, and I soaked in my retro hotel room’s heart-shaped Jacuzzi. For a very fleeting moment, I was actually spooked in a haunted house. Then, on a hike deep in the Niagara Gorge, I felt awe.

Welcome to Niagara Falls, Ont. — the most Instagrammed place in Canada, home of the most voluminous waterfall in North America and (still unofficially) the Honeymoon Capital of the World.

A trapeze artist from a renowned family of daredevils hung by her teeth from a helicopter over Niagara Falls today.

The stunt by aerialist Erendira Vasquez Wallenda comes on the fifth anniversary of her husband’s tight-rope walk over the falls.

According to organizers, the chopper hovered about 100 metres above the Horseshoe Falls. Wallenda dangled by her teeth for over 20 seconds, breaking her own husband’s world record.

“It felt amazing. It was a little more windy than I expected it to be, but I just had to put myself back to my backyard and my training,” she said.

When asked what she had to say to young women and girls, her message was one of persistence.

“Never give up on your dreams,” said the mother of three, who noted that she had to put her career as an aerialist on hold to raise her kids. “If a guy can do it, a girl can do it too. We just do it with a little more grace.”

It’s expected to be one of the biggest events happening at Niagara Falls this year – Erendira Wallenda will be flying, suspended from a helicopter by her teeth, over the falls.

“For whatever reason, every time there’s this sense of wonder,” said Andrea Czopp, the Communications Director for Destination Niagara USA. “People do all kinds of crazy things for crazy reasons and I think there’s something about the power of this water that ignites an intrigue.”

Niagara Falls played host to famed circus performer Nik Wallenda who walked across the natural phenomenon on a high-wire passing between the US into Canada just short of five years ago. Now, on the anniversary of his performance, his wife Erendira Vasquez Wallenda will attempt a world recording-breaking feat as she hangs from a helicopter above the falls on June 15—by her teeth.

“I come from eight generations of the circus on my mom’s side, and seven generations on my father’s side, so this has been something that’s been in my life for a long time,” Erendira, who is an aerialist, told VICE. “I started performing when I was five years old—I’ve been around people doing this sort of thing my entire life.”

We reached out to Erendira to ask her why in the world someone would want to hang by their teeth over the Falls and about what it’s like to come from a long hereditary line of circus performers.

This is a continuation of my “Best of Access Niagara” series. This series looks back on popular posts, highly commented posts, my favourite places, etc.

I have to admit… I’m not much of a thrill seeker. I don’t mind a roller coaster every now and then, but I’m definitely not an adrenaline junkie. That’s why prior to my visit to Niagara Helicopters in the Fall of 2012, I was kind of afraid to go up. I wasn’t really worried about safety, but it was still kind of unnerving. My wife was even more afraid than I was, as she is afraid of heights.

Anyway, the 5 of us arranged to go up, and it was an amazing experience. My wife was still uncomfortable, and squeezed my thigh pretty tight as we were flying, but the rest of us loved it. It was a beautiful clear day, and so the view was tremendous. It seemed obvious to me at that point why people would spend the money on such a trip. It really was a memory that has stuck with me.

I won’t get into all of the details again, but you can read about our visit in the post I put up about our trip. It includes pictures as well as a video.

For his entry into a quadcopter video contest, YouTube user Questpact had the idea to strap a GoPro Hero 3 camera to his DJI Phantom flyer and send it high, and not so high, above Niagara Falls.

With most tourists opting for a good soaking via the Maid in the Mist boat ride instead of a helicopter experience over the falls, Questpact’s video goes some way to showing what the natural wonder looks like from an elevated position, as well as what you can do with a video camera and quadcopter when you put your mind to it – and yes, the results are pretty stunning.